Volkswagen: Can the United Autoworkers Union win in the American south?

Volkswagen: Can the United Autoworkers Union win in the American south?

Yolanda Peoples has tried for more than a decade to convince her co-workers at a Volkswagen plant in southern Tennessee that joining the United Autoworkers Union (UAW) would result in increased job security, higher wages and a more comfortable retirement.

Colleagues in Chattanooga have twice rejected the idea.

Now, as her plant faces another vote on the question, the UAW member’s daughter and granddaughter think she may finally make her case.

“The whole atmosphere feels different,” he said. “They have a better understanding of what we are fighting for.”

The election, which involves about 4,300 workers and began April 17, is the first to emerge from a campaign UAW leaders announced last year to try to win new members at 13 foreign-owned auto plants based in the south.

The share of workers represented by unions has fallen steadily in the US since the 1980s.

But the pandemic led to an unusually hot job market and a rapid increase in the cost of living, emboldening workers across the country to file claims.

The number of mass strikes and petitions from workers hoping to join unions surged in 2022 and 2023, attracting Hollywood actors, UPS delivery drivers, Starbucks baristas, nurses, casino workers and others.

Since 2021, there has been a slight increase in the number of union members.

At the top of both political parties, President Joe Biden and former president Donald Trump have paid close attention to signs of worker discontent, abandoning the free trade orthodoxy that has dominated both US political parties for decades in favor of economic policies protection that organized labor has long fought for.

“More people are demanding better wages, part of the action and a lot of it is a post-Covid thing,” said Kent Syler, professor of political science at Middle Tennessee State University. “Is it enough in a deeply red state like Tennessee to move the needle? It’s hard to say.”

Previous efforts to unionize in Chattanooga and elsewhere in the south have failed in the face of fierce criticism from local politicians, Republicans, who warned a vote for the union could threaten state support for Volkswagen and make the state less attractive for business investment.

The UAW’s relationship with the Democratic Party remains a liability on the factory floor, especially in election years.

Jeff Irvin Jr, who has worked at the Chattanooga plant since 2010, said he has supported the union in the past, but is on the fence this time. He said the UAW’s recent endorsement of Mr. Biden had given him pause.

“It is difficult to support an organization that supports a president who is failing the American people on almost every level,” he wrote in an email to the BBC.

The UAW, which has seen its influence fall as its membership and industry share shrink, announced its ambitions last year last week after a headline-grabbing strike won big pay raises and other benefits for members at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.

The gains are helping to reignite interest, said Jeremy Kimbrell, who has tried, and failed, to drum up union support repeatedly during his two decades working for Mercedes in Alabama. He said not long after, many rival car manufacturers, including Volkswagen, Mercedes and Nissan, announced their own wage increases.

“Some of the veteran workers see it as a slap in the face – because they can give it to us all these years,” Mr Kimbrell said. “With the big jump [UAW] got this time, it’s clear that it’s the better way.”

A victory for the union would mandate that factory workers pay UAW dues and collectively bargain with the company over wages and benefits. Analysts say it could also convince other factories to follow suit.

As well as Chattanooga, the union is expecting an election at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Vance, Alabama next month. It has also claimed significant progress registering supporters for the election at Hyundai and Toyota.

The activists say they are trying to stay out of national politics and remain hopeful that changing attitudes towards organized labor will finally give their cause a chance.

“It feels a lot different,” said Volkswagen worker Zachary Costello, one of the most vocal supporters of the union at the Chattanooga plant. “There is a more open acceptance of consolidation across shifts.”

American University professor Stephen Silvia, who has previously written a book on the UAW campaign in south, said the organization had the “best chance” to win, after refreshing its reputation and approach with new leadership.

He said policies introduced by Trump and Biden to protect US auto jobs have also strengthened the ability of unions to demand more from workers without raising concerns that the demands will hurt companies and backfire in the long run.

Volkswagen declined to answer questions about its next steps if the UAW wins but said in a statement that it “fully” supports the vote and is “proud” of its record in Chattanooga — where the average annual wage is more than $60,000.

At firms like Starbucks and Amazon, union election victories have stalled as companies appeal the results or contract negotiations slow.

Volkswagen worker Jose Sandy said there is still “a lot of skepticism” about the UAW and its ability to effect change.

The union needs to “deliver what they say they’re going to do and it’s not clear to me how they’re going to do it,” said Mr. Sandy, who has dug into Volkswagen’s financial statements, concerned the union’s claims about the company are misleading.

Still, he said he was keeping an open mind and leaning towards a yes vote: “I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.”